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A hit like that doesn't happen for no reason. I really hope I am wrong but it suggests someone somewhere knows something....

Whilst I share fellow posters optimism to some degree, until we get a trading update everything is open to conjecture. We have been a jam tomorrow company for a long time, however, I remain hopeful we turned a corner post Brexit and the next official comment from our board will be rammed with good news and the SP will react accordingly. I completely agree that should the above take place 10p plus is entirely possible in very short order.

Possibly Gleaner although if I was taking the glass half full approach, consolidation could draw attention to the sector and attract more buyers.

Looking encouraging redchilly. I suspect we may be rising into the publication of results. I just wonder whether there maybe a special dividend in the offing?

Agreed Skindle, I believe we have shared a common belief that FDL is a sleeping giant. I firmly believe we are doing almost all the right things in all the right places....with the exception of Education which I feel/ and hope is being lined up for a sale. I hope Mr Burke, having now invested, will look to address this and my gut feeling, for what it's worth, is that with Express he is going to do a favourable deal for us with SPD, however, he might through his contacts, be looking elsewhere which may also explain why we haven't heard anything on this front for a while and as part of the interview process he came up with some good and implementable ideas that either go alongside MA' s ideas or beyond. Mr Sugden was cute enough to do a deal with the boys from America on Kitbag, much to MA's frustration, so it wouldn't come as a surprise if there were others out there happy to talk. Either way, form a birds eye view, we have moved significantly forward from plunging the depths of 1.60p. The market will eventually cotton on one way or the other. On a final note, 1 GW's comment on core debt coming down as it has so progressively will not go unnoticed with our cousins abroad.

Hello Skindle. To explain my comments more fully. I am also pleased and impressed that our new Chairman has bought such a meaningful number of shares. My beef is with the lack of a positive response in the shareprice/ from the market and seemingly a greater focus on Mr Maudsley's sale. The reason of settling a tax bill has long been used as an excuse to offload a significant shareholding and invites a degree os scepticism which, in this instance, appears to have overshadowed a solid debut purchase.

It would appear the market is not impressed with our Chairman's debut purchase of 40,000 shares and perhaps more inquisitive of Mr Maudsley's sale of 90,000 shares allegedly to settle a tax liability.... Whatever the reasons at least he has retained a meaningful share and its good to see Mr Burke recognising there is value at this price and putting his money down. I won't hide that I am disappointed we are not trading at least 10% higher at this moment in time.

Thank you. 1GW. I was using the LSE broker ratings tab as my reference so glad to see the coverage you have identified. A coroporate rating means the company will meet its financial targets and fulfill its requirements to its creditors.

Having not heard a squeak from any of the previously interested brokers for over a year now, I would like to think that off the back of such a positive update, they will resume coverage in the same vein. With core debt coming down (very pleasant surprise) could it be possible they will be discussing a dividend in the near future? They made a specific point of referencing this in the Final Results back in July last year. That really would put us back on the radar.

It all looks very good. Impressive figures in all areas and exceptionals within previous guidance.The only fly in the anointment is the exchange rate squeezing margins somewhat but that was easy to have predicted. FY 17 and 18 guidance remains on track for growth. No mention of SPD for the moment but possibly our new chairman is holding this back so he can herald his appointment with a game changing announcement. We have tracked NBrown recently, I would hope with these figures we will move towards 2.50 without too much effort.

Many thanks Gerry557, all good and well made points. I certainly wasnt seeking to have a 'moan' merely share a thought that crossed my mind. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but please dont misunderstand me, I was very happy with the Verizon deal that was struck at the time and reinvested the proceeds elsewhere with mixed results to date but also very happy to let them play themselves out. Vodafone is core to my portfolio and I am a long term holder and dont get too excited if it fluctuates a bit, however, I do feel that at this price, it offers a good level to top up. Thanks again for your observations.

I will prefix this straight away by saying I was very happy with the Deal that was struck at the time and a profit is always something that cannot be atgued against. However......I cant help but think what our shareprice would be now with such a powerful US contributer to our earnings...I know, I know, hindsight and all that but just needed to get it off my chest

There is some truth in what you say sain@vision but the days of Jon Hunt are very much in the rear view mirror. He and Pidgely over at Berkeley Homes are two of the most astute property investors out there imo but Foxtons today cant be compared to the Foxtons of old....too much has changed. Yes some of the players will strike out on their own, that is part and parcel for the industry but they also need the funds to do so and unless they are cash rich its unlikely the bank will help, so, they may well negotiate a share option agreemnent to help keep the loyalty in place and at these levels the upside for remaining in place over, say, the next three years may well outweigh the ability/ desire to move for pastures new. It is possible the sp may drift but for me, the upside outweighs the downside and anecdotally, I hear London is moving better now than before. Time will tell but I am happy to back the recovery.

Here's hoping 1GW and I hope NBrowns update today bodes well for us. Our rise today can only be attributable to this though, we have simply tracked their upward move.

Hello wizzard75. To answer your question I believe its a mixture of both your points. They will have researched the areas and ensured they have the right people to make the offices a success. Foxtons is very obviously a straight play on the London market and like the London market it will go up more or drop quicker according to market conditions. For me its about gaining an attractive entry point and at these levels it looks good enough for me. The alternatives offer good and bad business models in my opinion and will appeal to your own appetite for risk. I hope this helps.

Mr Shearer was of course touted as a candidate for the then vacant Chairmanship here. Two things come to mind. Firstly, following your observations Khufu, Toscafund didn't get 'their' man and secondly, our new Chairman has a lot to live up to given how Speedyhire's share price has risen. Casting my eye back to last year, the clock is ticking towards the end of this month when we can expect an RNS updating us on trading for the 17 weeks to the 22nd Jan 2017. I am excited and nervous in equal measure.

Anything to get the share price moving north would be welcomed by all of us Khufu.

We agree again sain@vision. They are in all the right places doing the right things. I have a warm glow today having topped up post Brexit after the main board bought some significant shares demonstrating their belief and knowledge of how the business was performing.

Good points well made sain@vision. Whilst the CEO has been cautious about managing expectations for the coming year, I suspect that the London market will start to pick up again soon as sellers realign their expectations to those of buyers. I am sure Mr Budden would rather pleasantly surprise us than be overly optimistic now only to get castigated for it after the next RNS update on trading conditions. Whatever you may think of Foxtons, they are in the right locations to take advantage of when the market turns the corner and are debt free. Countrywide, by contrast, are having to close offices because of the badly conceived and debt laden strategy pursued by the current CEO following her arrival just over 2 years ago. In the short term, I'll take whatever downward movement in share price that comes along for Foxtons versus holding Countrywide shares all day long......they (Countrywide) are, imo, in real trouble and it wont be too long before they have to come clean.

Time will tell Skindle but I wouldn't be surprised if one of our existing shareholders was taking a further position. I was intrigued by the article in the Telegraph yesterday which suggested SPD are looking at the sale of more brands, subject to price, which confirms the thoughts in my last post. In addition, I couldnt help but think back to the put option SPD has taken in Debenhams via Goldman Sachs and at the current price is going to be a very expensive bet which could cost them 85m when it it expires in May. As far as Findel is concerned, I cannot see SPD making a move on us by way of a takeover as it's my belief they see more to be gained through a commercial tie up which they will back to boost our shareprice whilst simultaneously improving their own revenue. The rise in our shareprice will allow MA to exit at a profit and justify his 'investment'. I have put this in italics as in don't believe that this was his original reason for doing so but time and the challenges he now faces are very different to when he took his position. With regards to our trading, I fully expect some strong figures to be reported from Express but referencing the usual excuses on the education side. If I hear anymore about revised exceptionals, I think I may well March up to HQ and demand a meeting with our new Chairman. I was really encouraged with the last update in terms of the direction we were heading and that all the measures they put in place approx 18 months ago are now bearing fruit, however, personally I can see no advantage to keeping Education and if we can get a reasonable offer for it then it would be sensible to pay down debt and as with Kitbag, free up working capital Just a few thoughts for the start of the new year and despite the likes of Next taking an absolute drubbing of late we dont appear to have been dragged down, so very simply on that measure, I am feeling relatively pleased, indeed it appears that even the likes of Next can have their sharprice halved in a relatively short period of time